Safest Cities in Maryland

2019 Guide to Maryland's Safest Cities

List of Maryland’s Safest Cities

Located just north of the nation’s capital and one either side of the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland has much to offer. Baltimore may be known for having a relatively high crime rate, but there are many areas that enjoy an outstanding quality of life.

More of the Safest Places to Live in Maryland

Best Places to Live in Maryland with 5,000+ Population

11-20

21-30

Westminster

Bladensburg

Greenbelt

La Plata

Laurel

Fruitland

Hyattsville

Salisbury

Cumberland

Elkton

How We Rated Safest Cities in Maryland

To rank the most secure towns and cities of Maryland, we tabulated the most recent complete (2017) FBI Uniform Crime Report. Towns and cities with five thousand residents or higher, who recorded their crime data, were considered.

We reviewed both “Violent” (aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery) and “Property Crimes” (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft). In order to reflect the seriousness of the crimes, these figures were weighted. Property crimes which were factored by .50 and were added to the violent crimes.

The sum of the two was then divided by the population in the community. For comparison purposes, we normalized the mathematical finding to reflect weighted criminal offenses per 100,000.

The Best Places to Live in Maryland – Crime Ratings

While no rating system is perfect, this provides a reasonably good mathematical gauge of the overall safety and security in the community. If you’re looking to find the best places to live in Maryland, this list is a great place to start.

It is important to note, not every town and city reports their records. If a town or city did not report their stats to the FBI, they were not included in the list. Any communities with reporting ommissions or anomalies might also not be reflected in this year’s rankings.

When evaluating an area, one must realize that certain neighborhoods inside any city may have much lower crime rates than other areas. This is especially true in larger cities. Consequently, it is important to check into specific neighborhoods within the community and talk with local authorities to get a feel for the security and safety of a neighborhood.